Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) announced on Feb. 28 that it has won a patent rights infringement lawsuit against Chinese tire manufacturer Fangxing Rubber Co. Ltd. in the Shanghai High People’s Court. Bridgestone first filed the lawsuit with the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court in September 2017, claiming that Fangxing had infringed on its patent rights by manufacturing and selling tires with a...
Japan’s four major tire manufacturers – Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108), Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (TYO:5110), Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. (TYO:5101) and Toyo Tires Corp. (TYO:5105) – are all forecasting improvements at the operating profit level for calendar 2020. Bridgestone is using adjusted operating profit here, while Sumitomo Rubber and Yokohama Rubber use business profit. However, with Bridgestone noting that it is...
Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) is set to begin supplying its Greatec brand of tires as an OE option for use on Isuzu Motors Ltd.’s (TYO:7202) new Giga truck, which hit the Japanese market in December 2019. The Greatec brand has so far been largely geared toward the North American market. Tires at the rear of large trucks are typically mounted in...
The novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, is having a major impact on society. This is especially true in China itself, though there is also the possibility that the virus will spread further overseas going forward. Looking then to get a better idea of how all this will impact business, Japan Rubber Weekly collected information from a number...
Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) has developed new sensor technology for measuring tire load and wear. This comes in the form of the Smart Strain Sensor, a device that can be attached to the interior of tires to measure the change in strain that occurs as the tires of a moving vehicle make contact with the road. This feature in Bridgestone’s Smart...
Bridgestone Corp. (TYO:5108) is faced with a rather unfavorable business environment for its studless winter tires at present, impacted by this fiscal year’s reduction in new car sales and a relatively mild winter. Still, the company is making efforts to grow sales for these tires, focusing its efforts on the Blizzak VRX2 and Blizzak VRX lines in particular. As part...
